FrancFranc to open store in historic townhouse in Gion, Kyoto

Home goods store FrancFranc will open their Masterrecipe branded flagship store in a traditional townhouse in Kyoto’s Gion district today.

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Shibuya Station Sakuragaoka Redevelopment to start in January

Preparation for the Shibuya Station Sakuragaoka Exit District Redevelopment is scheduled to start in January 2019. Demolition of the existing buildings will start in January, with construction of the new buildings to begin in 2020. Completion is expected by late 2023.

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New apartment prices in Tokyo up 10.6% from last year

According to the Real Estate Economic Institute, a total of 2,895 brand-new apartments were released for sale across greater Tokyo in October, down 14.1% from the previous month but up 2.8% from last year. Sales in several large-scale projects within Tokyo pushed up the total supply for the month. The Institute had previously forecast a supply of 3,500 units for the month, but there were several cases of sales being delayed due to the quake-shock absorber falsified data scandal that came to light last month.

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Apartment rents in Tokyo increase for 11th month

According to Tokyo Kantei, the average monthly rent for an apartment in Tokyo’s 23 wards was 3,526 Yen/sqm in October 2018, up 0.6% from the previous month and up 6.6% from last year. This is the 11th month in a row to see a year-on-year increase.

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Greater Tokyo second-hand apartment prices increase for 70th month in a row

According to REINS, 3,096 second-hand apartments were sold across greater Tokyo in October, down 4.6% from the previous month and down 0.2% from last year. The average sale price was 32,750,000 Yen, down 0.5% from the previous month but up 2.0% from last year. The average price per square meter was 505,700 Yen, down 1.6% from the previous month but up 0.8% from last year. This is the 70th month in a row to record a  year-on-year increase in sale prices.

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ORIX trialing 45-year loans on investment properties

ORIX Bank began trialing 45-year loans on investment properties in May 2018, making it the longest property loan on offer in the industry, exceeding the typical maximum term of 35 years.

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Tokyo's Adachi ward looks into recent spread of share houses

Adachi is the first ward in Tokyo to begin an investigation into the recent proliferation of share houses. A local government investigation carried out between May and October identified 313 share houses in the ward. As many as 70 were previously being managed by Smart Days, a now-defunct share house developer.

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